Cumberland BS reinvested bond without warning in another fixed bond - any recourse?

subjecttocontract

Are you suggesting that their t & c's should be different the older an account holder is ?

Malthusian

CelticStar said:

I doubt she will complain as she's not the complaining type but I've tweeted them about it and will see what happens. 

My guess would be a generic response of the "sorry you are cross, please get in touch and we'll blah blah" variety, as they aren't going to do anything based on a tweet from someone with no authority on the account.
Does she have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place?
Unless she is happy to leave the money for another two years, I really think you need to make a formal complaint as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the more it looks like a belated change of mind, instead of someone who never intended to lock up their money for another two years, and realised only two days too late (two non-working days) that it had happened. 
Although there is no formal cooling off period, it seems unfair and unreasonable for Cumberland not to allow her to exit only two days after the account started. This problem has been entirely created by Cumberland - it would be more reasonable to leave the matured money in an easy access account until they receive explicit instructions.

bundoran

Malthusian said:

CelticStar said:

I doubt she will complain as she's not the complaining type but I've tweeted them about it and will see what happens. 

My guess would be a generic response of the "sorry you are cross, please get in touch and we'll blah blah" variety, as they aren't going to do anything based on a tweet from someone with no authority on the account.
Does she have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place?
Unless she is happy to leave the money for another two years, I really think you need to make a formal complaint as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the more it looks like a belated change of mind, instead of someone who never intended to lock up their money for another two years, and realised only two days too late (two non-working days) that it had happened. 
Although there is no formal cooling off period, it seems unfair and unreasonable for Cumberland not to allow her to exit only two days after the account started. This problem has been entirely created by Cumberland - it would be more reasonable to leave the matured money in an easy access account until they receive explicit instructions.

I dislike institutions rolling over fixed term non-access accounts into similar new accounts without specific instructions to do so, but part of the blame for this situation lies with a saver who is apparently "very good with her paperwork" not giving the instructions to the building society on or before the maturity date which that "paperwork" indicated was necessary and a term of the account, whether or not she got a reminder letter.

Cumberland are nice to deal with. Rather than telling them that the "problem" has been "entirely created" by them - which it hasn't - I suggest that the lady approaches them and asks for help, saying that she didn't get a reminder, that at 85 she's realised that a 2 year fixed term account is inappropriate and hadn't intended to re-invest in a fixed term bond when her bond matured; and requesting that the roll-over be reversed and the cash put into an easy access account.

Asking for help and not trying to blame Cumberland for doing what their published terms and conditions say they will do is the most likely way to be successful.

Malthusian

bundoran said:

I dislike institutions rolling over fixed term non-access accounts into similar new accounts without specific instructions to do so, but part of the blame for this situation lies with a saver who is apparently "very good with her paperwork" not giving the instructions to the building society on or before the maturity date which that "paperwork" indicated was necessary and a term of the account, whether or not she got a reminder letter.

Without the benefit of hindsight, it would be reasonable to assume that there's no point in giving instructions until the account has matured, because it's currently in a fixed rate deposit with no access allowed.
The post has been notoriously unreliable for years, and the idea that OP's MIL should have known that she needed to give Cumberland a withdrawal instruction before she was actually allowed to withdraw rests mostly on her remembering the terms and conditions of an account she opened two years ago.
If you are going to lock up customers' money for two years without their explicit consent, and with no cooling-off period, you need to make absolutely sure that that's what they want.

Cumberland are nice to deal with.

Not to CelticStar's ma-in-law they weren't. Politeness is easy, Consumer Duty is hard.

 Rather than telling them that the "problem" has been "entirely created" by them - which it hasn't

Cumberland hold maturity proceeds on easy access until instructions are given = nobody has a problem. Those who actually want another fixed rate account can instruct them accordingly, and those who aren't good with their paperwork don't lose access to their money unexpectedly.
Cumberland automatically roll over bonds to exploit customers' inertia = those who miss the maturity date by a couple of days now have a problem.
This is a classic case of "causing foreseeable harm" which is prohibited by the new Consumer Duty rules. As the customer is elderly, Cumberland are also required to take her "vulnerable client" status into account. 
If we were talking about someone who didn't bother doing anything for two months and then asked for their money back, Cumberland would have a slightly better argument for implied consent, but we're talking about someone who went into the branch the very first working day after maturity.

I suggest that the lady approaches them and asks for help, saying that she didn't get a reminder, that at 85 she's realised that a 2 year fixed term account is inappropriate and hadn't intended to re-invest in a fixed term bond when her bond matured; and requesting that the roll-over be reversed and the cash put into an easy access account.

I would agree, except she already tried that, and allowing Cumberland to string her along reduces her chance of success. The earlier she makes it clear that she always wanted to withdraw the money, the better.
A formal complaint will ensure the case is looked at by someone higher up the food chain who has the power to override the terms and conditions and take a more reasonable approach, rather than saying "it's a fixed rate bond so you can't close it, computer says no".

CelticStar

I just wanted to update this and say that the Cumberland have allowed my mother-in-law to withdraw her funds after I wrote to the customer service team on her behalf explaining what had happened and how upset she was about it.  I did mention their 'kinder banking' policy and explain that she hadn't received a letter.  I have to say I was very impressed with their customer service team, they were very nice throughout the whole process and dealt with my mother-in-law very kindly.  They did say that they had sent the letter but as there was no proof she had received it they were letting her have the funds.  

Thanks again to everyone who gave advice, it was much appreciated.